Hurry up and wait

The nursery is painted, the new carpet is laid, we've got bottles and diapers and all those other baby essentials. Now, we wait. We've been expecting the baby for 3 months now and we still have about 4 more to go. I've always considered myself a patient person but this wait might just be the hardest of my life. I love the baby's nursery. I'll have to post some pics of it. It's just exactly the way I always imagined it with the very pale yellow walls--the paint color is called Warm Summer, this crib from JC Penney, freshly painted dresser, and a nice new rocker recliner. At first I wanted a pretty wooden rocking chair but the more I thought about it a rocker recliner made more sense because after I'm finished with it in the baby's room we can move it out into the family room and I figure there will be times I'll end up sleeping sitting up with baby so a recliner just sounded better. We don't have a lot of clothes yet since we don't know if it's a boy or girl. We still need a lot of little things too like a baby monitor, bouncy seat, high chair, swing, pack n' play, sheets, etc. My mom, sister-in-law Tonja, and best friend Vanessa are planning a baby shower for me. I'm so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

From shorts to scarves overnight

Last week we were wearing shorts and t-shirts. Today I wore jeans, sweatshirt, winter coat, and gloves. Typically we get a nice dose of 60 degree fall weather. Something has gone wrong this year it went from hot and humid to frigid. Oh well, the weather has pushed us indoors and there is always something that needs done indoors. We started painting the baby's room this evening, 1 more coat of paint should do it. I want to go this weekend and order new carpet for the house so I've been cleaning out closets and de-cluttering. I've sold some stuff on ebay and trying to sell on diaperswappers--so far not successfully. EM is still doing well. I still feel zoned out in my own little getting-ready-for-baby world. And I'm lovin' it!
Did anyone watch 18 kids and counting last night? I'm so happy for Anna and Josh and their new baby girl. And I'm very pleased to see she had a smooth homebirth. Homebirth is something I always wanted to do. Since they named their first baby Mackynzie I wonder if their future children will also have M names.

Happily Domestic is hosting a Cloth Diaper Giveaway Week

Happily Domestic is hosting a really great event on her blog. She's having a cloth diaper giveaway week! Head on over to her blog to learn all about it.

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Too soon for motherly instincts???

EM--expectant mom, felt the baby move about a week ago. When I found out I was so happy, this is such a big milestone. About 2 weeks ago we all met up unexpectedly and EM's baby bump is still growing nicely. Whenever we see her or talk to her I have these strange feelings, it feels like I almost want to mother her. If she says she's been craving something--mostly sweets by the way--then I feel I must get it. If she's tired I just want to do anything for her so she can rest. Of course she's carrying a baby that I am hoping and planning to raise, but it's more than that. She's in such a hard place, she's been through so much for such a young age. But it's not pity. Anyway, I can't really explain it.

In other news, my best friend Vanessa had gastric bypass surgery on Sept. 14th. I spent the night before surgery with her and it was like being a teenager again. Now the surgery is done, and my best friend is hurting. She's in pain. And I don't know what to do for her. There were some complications during surgery, there was an air leak somewhere in her pouch or intestines and they had to patch it. She came home with 2 drain tubes. The doctor told her no more pain pills but she's in so much pain. Tears streaming down her cheeks she looked at me and said "I regret this." I simply don't know what to do for her but hug her.

Just life, nothing exciting

Things have been busy around here. I just got out of the hospital with pneumonia and bronchitis. It was my first time ever having to stay overnight in the hospital and I didn't care for it thank you very much. Feeling better and trying to play catch-up with the housework now. I haven't spoken with expectant mom in about a week and a half. I want to just talk to her constantly and ask her every little pregnancy detail but I know I can't. When we get on the phone I ask the "how are you feeling" and "how are the kids and hubby" questions but it always comes to a lull in the conversation and I start feeling awkward and don't know what to say or talk about. I need some non-pregnancy/baby related things to talk about. I've never been a very socially outgoing person. I've still been picking up baby items here and there, just odd pieces that happen to be on sale or really good discount. My mom, sister, and best friend have started planning a baby shower. Some of Mark's family have expressed their desire to wait til after the baby is born to buy gifts and I'm totally fine with that. I don't even care if the baby doesn't get any gifts and I just want him or her to know that we were planning before he/she got here and the whole family loves him/her. Since we are looking at a cold wintry birth then I don't think I want a lot of people coming in soon after to bring gifts and see the baby. It will be flu season, RSV, colds, etc. I just think having a shower before Baby D gets here makes more sense. I'm a planner, I always have been. I like having things ready. I would just feel better knowing that everything is bought and clean and put away before the baby comes.
Other than that life is still going on. We're trying to get our firewood in for the winter and just get things outside stored away.

Baby bump

I saw expectant mom on Sunday and she's got a little baby bump. It's so cute.
I bought a cradle at a yard sale for $10 and it's originally $175 and it's in excellent condition. Only used a couple times, and she gave me the bumper pads and sheet to go with it. She said her toddler keeps climbing it and she's afraid she'll get hurt. I was super excited to find such a great deal.
We've been remodeling the bathroom, that was a job. New cabinets, sink, flooring, painted, etc. It looks pretty good but I'm not sure about the paint color. It's called string bean and it's a bit darker than the swatch. But it feels good to be getting things done. Next I want to start working on the baby's nursery. I think I want the walls a pale yellow and Baby Looney Tunes wallpaper border and decor. I'm going with white crib and changing table.
We are still discussing baby names. For a girl Sydney, Savannah, and Elizabeth top the list. And for a boy Liam, Landon, and William. We can't agree and still have no middle names picked out.

Gro Baby!

I've been researching cloth diapers online and I think I may have found the ones I want. They are Gro Baby diapers! They are good from newborn to toddler so no need to buy different diapers for different sizes. I just LOVE the colors they come in, especially the green. The soaker pads are organic cotton and the snaps are guaranteed for life. I really like the looks of this diaper and I really want to try it out. Take a look at their site, http://www.thenaturalbabyco.com/grobaby%E2%84%A2-ic-11_16.html